Man In Terror Probe Skips FBI Questioning

CIA tipped FBI, other domestic agencies after catching a whiff

(AP) - An Afghan immigrant accused of plotting a terrorist attack in New York after receiving training in Pakistan was in contact with a senior al-Qaeda operative, intelligence officials familiar with the investigation say. The CIA learned about Najibullah Zazi through one of its sources and alerted domestic agencies, including the FBI. More»

(AP) - Najibullah Zazi has pleaded not guilty to plotting a terrorist attack on New York City using common chemicals. The Afghan immigrant's lawyer entered the plea today in Brooklyn. Zazi was ordered held without bail during the brief hearing. Zazi's defense attorney says what he's seen so far "does not amount to a conspiracy" and added that he doesn't know the names of anyone accused of conspiring with his client. More»

Official replaced after unit's imam informant tipped off suspect

(NEWSER) - A top official from one of the NYPD's two counterterror units has been replaced after his unit disrupted a federal terror probe by inadvertently alerting the prime suspect to the investigation. Paul Ciorra of the Intelligence Division—which sometimes competes with the city's Counterterrorism Bureau and clashes with federal partners—has been shifted to another job and a Counterterrorism Bureau official installed in his place, the New York Times reports. More»

Police swooped over alleged plot after city visit

(NEWSER) - A Colorado man believed to be a central figure in a New York City terror investigation denies he has links to al-Qaeda or any other terrorist group, the New York Times reports. Police raided three apartments in Queens after Najibullah Zazi visited the city last week. Materials were removed for examination but no arrests have been made, sparking accusations from federal officials that New York authorities moved in too soon, before the nature of the terror plot—if there was one—could be known. More»

Othniel Miller reportedly raped his niece before Patz vanished

(NEWSER) - The FBI has a new suspect in the 33-year-old disappearance of Etan Patz: a wood shop owner who once used the SoHo basement where cops are now digging for Patz's body, the New York Post reports. Othniel Miller, a 75-year-old living in Brooklyn, fell under suspicion after his ex-wife recently claimed he had raped his young niece a few years before Patz vanished in 1979. Federal officers used the claim to get a search warrant and start digging up the basement at 127 Prince St. More»